


Travelling

by oncetherelivedaboy



Series: On A Strangers Doorstep [7]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: M/M, Past Mpreg, Trans Alexander Hamilton, but the sensible kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 06:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8614171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oncetherelivedaboy/pseuds/oncetherelivedaboy
Summary: Takes place shortly after Challenges We're Facing Epilogue. Alex has to leave for the weekend and is more than a little hesitant given that he hasn't left Philip alone for any amount of time.





	1. Chapter 1

He’s a little over 5 weeks old, and Alex has never been more than a room away from him, and even that is just when he’s asleep and he goes to the bathroom or takes a shower, the baby monitor sitting on the counter just incase he wakes up. When he gets a call from Washington, informing him that the publishing company that was managing his book, had requested he do a few book signings, he’s reluctant. Very reluctant to leave him alone for any length of time. He hasn’t left him, not once, even when John was home, he’d taken him grocery shopping at a week old after his first doctor’s appointment. Lafayette had convinced him to buy one of the chest carriers. He wouldn’t admit it right away but he found it much better than carrying the big bulky carrier, he’d been concerned about it at first, worried about all the daunting reviews and horror stories he’d read online, but once he’d found the correct way to wear it he felt comfortable, and he checked frequently to make sure he was doing ok. Philip also seemed to like it better than the handled carrier, probably due to the closeness it provided and the fact that he could hear his heart. John had said it was calming for babies, especially after all the time he had spent hearing it while in the womb, babies knew that sound, Philip knew who Alex was. 

Alex didn’t want to leave him, not for a moment, let alone an entire 4 days, they’d put him up in a hotel each night, have him do a book reading and signing in DC, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware before the final day at a bookstore in the city. They’d apparently already had it planned for a few months, yet neither him nor Washington had heard about it and he silently thanked god that it had been after he’d had Philip, he could not have done this before then. There will be more dates in the summer, more scheduled tours that Alex hadn’t been aware of and normally he wouldn’t mind, but it had been a sudden thing and he wants to cancel more than anything. Even though John will be there with him, he’s worried, even though he knows that he won’t be left alone for a moment, that Angie will be there on the Friday and Monday when John has class. The last almost year the two have always been together, whether it was when he was still in his stomach, a little flutter of movement, or now when he’s a tiny little of bundle of actual sunshine. He calls him ‘ petite étoile’, translating to little star, and Lafayette tells him he’s being cliche but he can’t bring himself to care. 

He packs the day before he has to leave, Philip just passing 6 weeks old the coming Monday. John had offered to come with him, but he’d be even more worried with him coming, he loved Angie, trusted her with his life, but he didn’t want to leave Philip alone that long with her, not when she was unfamiliar to him. He was familiar with John, was passed without any fussiness to him. 

“It’s just a few days.” He has to keep telling himself that as he packs. “He’s going to be ok.” Only he wasn’t so much worried about Philip, he was worried about what he was going to do. John had promise to video call him during the evenings. He’s glad he looks mostly back to normal, he’d been doing some light workouts to tighten his stomach up a little bit more, not a whole lot, but enough. He’d had an appointment regarding his recovering since the birth a few days earlier, it had gone well. He’d gotten the green light to safely do pretty much whatever he wanted, they didn’t want him doing any heavy lifting or running any marathons anytime soon and to just take his time instead of jumping back into the middle of everything. They’d even said getting some time alone would be good for him, even with Philip sleeping in the carrier in the same room. He’d taken the carrier that day, knowing he wouldn’t be able to wear the chest one during the appointment. 

John gets home at the time he gets home everyday, Frances has grown used to holding Philip while Alex makes her snack, it’s become routine and she asks what it’s going to be like tomorrow. He’s leaving early in the morning, earlier than John leaves for class to catch a train to DC. He tells her Angie will be here when she gets home and that Eliza is going to be there to take her home from school and will probably stay with them until John gets home. She nods and Alex takes Philip back into his arms after he’d set the plate down and he’s nuzzled a bit closer to his chest, something he’d figured out pretty quickly meant he was hungry. He prepared the bottle, and he took it happily, and Alex listened as Frances  talked about her day and how there a was a boy in her class who had the same name as her, she thought he had a crush on her. He laughed to himself when she said that she wanted to focus on school. 

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Alex had replied. “Your education and future should always be your first priority.” 

“Also, wouldn’t it be weird to date someone with your name. People would get confused.” She wrinkles nose. “Boys are weird anyway.” Lafayette arrives shortly after she finishes her snack and he heads upstairs. 

John is just climbing the steps when Alex lays him down, already fast asleep. John wraps his arms around him from behind and Alex eases into it, turning around to press into his shirt and breathe deeply. 

“I have to leave in the morning.” 

“I know.” He says, kissing the top of his head.

“I don’t want to.”

“I know, you can still cancel, say you’re sick or something like that.” Alex shakes his head. 

“What if something happens when I’m gone, what if he suddenly starts walking or talking and I miss it.”

“Alex, I promise you, he won’t start walking or talking, he can’t even hold his head upright.” Alex knows he’s being ridiculous and he groans out loud. 

“You are calling me every night,” 

“We will.”

* * *

 

It is way too early when the alarm goes off, and Alex is somewhat disappointed when it doesn’t wake Philip up. He gets dressed and throws his toothbrush in his bag after he’s done getting ready. He makes himself coffee downstairs, drinks it with a bagel and then goes back upstairs. Philip starting to stir as he wakes John with a kiss and a cup of coffee. He picks up the little bundle as John drinks the coffee, fully awake by the time Alex has got his diaper changed and dressed for the day. He kisses his cheeks and forehead and pulls the little green hat snug on his head. 

“You had better not do anything milestone worthy when I’m gone.” He tells him in a mock stern voice as he lies on the changing table, looking up at him with big eyes and his tiny little finger wrapped around one of Alex’s. “I’m being serious, I will take your betrayal personally.” He says, and Philip, dear god help Alexander because he swears his heart stops, smiles. An honest to god smile and Alex grins back. 

“He smiled.” Alex blurts out and John crosses the room to look at him and he smiles again the moment John comes into view. “Now I really don’t want to leave.”

“At least you didn’t miss that.” He’s got a fresh bottle in his hand and he lifts Philip gently, cradling him in his arms. Alex kisses John and pulls a tiny cap onto Philip’s head, before dropping a final kiss to his forehead. 

“I’ll be back as soon as I can my petite étoile.” He says, before reluctantly straightening back up. 

“Go, before you miss your train.” John says, kissing Alex again before he heads down the stairs. His bag is already downstairs and he takes a deep breath before opening the door. It was going to be a long few days. 


	2. Chapter 2

The coffee has already hit his system by the time he sits down, and he pulls up the sequel’s draft, it was started, but only a couple chapters in, he could likely get another one knocked out on the ride. It’s about a three and half hour ride to DC. He talks to John on his walk to class and then calls Angie to make sure everything’s ok. She tells him to stop worrying and that everything is fine. Washington picks him up from the train station, at first offering a handshake that turns into a short hug, it’s been awhile since they’ve seen each other. 

He gets a picture from Angie on the drive to the hotel, Philip asleep with his hand curled around one of her long thin fingers. 

“How are John and Frances?” Washington asks from the driver’s seat, his eyes unmoving from the road.

“Fine, John’s staying home over the weekend with Frances and Angie’s watching Philip while they’re at school.” He says, typing out a reply to Angie. 

“Philip?” Alex pauses, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard, he really needed to watch what he said. 

“Our son, I’ll show you some pictures when we get to the hotel.”

“Didn’t think you were looking into adoption, I guess that’s why you’ve been so busy.”

“We didn’t adopt him, I got pregnant.” 

“Oh.” There’s a pause and Alex holds his breath waiting for a reply. George had known he was trans, it wasn’t something that should have surprised him. They had talked about adding it to the ‘about the author’ section but he hadn’t been comfortable with that. He talked about it on his blog from time to time and he’d answered questions about it before but he hadn’t felt the need to advertise himself in his works. “I thought you had surgery a few years back.”

“I had top surgery, can we not have an indepth conversation about this.” Washington nodded and Alex went back to texting Angie. 

“So, how old is he?” 

“6 weeks on Monday.” 

“Were you worried to leave him?”

“Yeah, in all honesty I was contemplating cancelling, but publishers probably don’t want that.” Washington nods again.

“Can’t imagine the people who’ve come to see you would enjoy it much either.” Alex holds back a laugh, he’ll be shocked if there’s 5 people attending, sure his writing is decent but he doesn’t expect any kind of excessive turn out. He’s been away from his blog for a while, the royalty checks were set to start arriving after he did theses first readings, part of the reason he’d reluctantly agreed to attend. It was categorized as YA fiction, dystopian with a bit of a fantasy thrown in. He enjoyed talking about the book, about the future sequel, but he liked to avoid idle conversation about it. Preferred to leave talking about it on his blog or when he was writing the actual book. 

After they were checked into their hotel, dropped off their bags, and Washington had seen an excessive amount of pictures of Philip and Frances they went out for a late breakfast, they had 2 hours until he had to be there for the reading. Washington went over the very lenient schedule. He’d read the first chapter, answer a few questions and then he’d move over to a table for the actual signing portion. They mostly just discuss the sequel and if they’re going to go with the same publishers. Washington discusses the possibility of a trilogy but Alex isn’t really interested in jumping onto that train. He thinks it’ll just draw out the story and water down the plot.

* * *

 

Shocked is one word for it, overwhelmed is another. There are a lot more people here than he had expected, and he’s done the minimum amount of social interaction with people for the last 6 months. He wishes he’d been keeping up with his blog recently, at least then he’d have had some sort of preparation for them all. Washington nudges him forward when he’s introduced and he crosses to the stool they’ve set up for him to read from.

“Hello, everyone, as she said I am Alexander Hamilton, we’re going to do questions after the reading, but we’ll have quite a bit of time for that when it comes and I’ll try to get to everyone.” He knows he’s shaking, knows that his voice is probably more than a little wobbly, but it goes off mostly without a hitch and questions start. 

“Why did you decide to make the main character transgender?”

“There aren’t enough queer characters in books or the media. I myself, as some of you who follow me online, know that I am a trans man. I wanted people to be able to see themselves in them so I did what I could.” The questions range from character backstories to way too deep into Alex’s personal life. 

“Are you married?” 

“Yes, my husband’s name is John and we have 2 children.”

“What are their names?” 

“I’d rather not say, it's my personal life and I like to keep that separate from my work life.” The girl who’d asked just nods, and he continues on. 

“Do you know when the sequel is going to be released?”

“No, not at the moment. It’s been kind of hectic at home the last few months but the first draft is making progress and I’d say it’ll be at most a year and half if the publishers like what I’ve got in mind.” 

After the questions they move over to a table, forming a somewhat organized line and he signs the books for them, a few playful conversations ensue. He doesn’t even think about leaving early and by the time the line is gone and the people have dispersed it’s 5 in the evening. His hand is cramping and socially he’s exhausted, but he feels good. They go to dinner afterwards and then head back to the hotel. Washington offers him a wave before heading to his own room and he changes into his pajamas and takes a hot shower before calling John, who answers on the second ring. They switch to video call as soon as it connects. 

“So, how was it?”

“Not bad, I actually kind of had a good time.”

“Well I’m glad, Philip misses you.” He says, gesturing the baby on his chest. 

“I would come home just to hold him.” They talk for a while, and John eventually tells him he should catch up on his sleep, wishes him a goodnight from him and Frances and they hang up and Alex turns off the lights and curls up under the covers. It’s not the same without John, but it’s most definitely not the same without Philip next to the bed. 

He finds himself waking up at 2 or 3 hour intervals throughout the night, still used to the schedule he’d fallen into for Philip over the last weeks. It’s another early morning and they get their bags together and take train to the next city. Alex managing to actually get some sleep on this ride while Washington read the newspaper next to him. The next 2 days follow the same schedule as the last, arrival, hotel, brunch, bookstore, dinner and then back to the hotel and calling John. That night however he finds himself sleeping through the night for the first time in a while. 

On the last day they have a 7 hour ride from Richmond back to New York so they don’t have time to go back to his house and go straight to the bookstore. He’s antsy through the reading, and he tries to get through the questions as quickly as possible, he wants to go home, wants to hold Philip and hug John, it’s only been a few days but he wants nothing more than to go home. The line is about halfway through for the signings and he’s bouncing his leg a little too much. He’s barely looking at the people as they pass him the books, unless they start talking, then he attempts conversation, he doesn’t mean to be rude, he just wants get home. The next person steps up and Alex does a double take, halfway through his name, and he’s going around the table, wrapping his arms around John and the people in the line look confused, but Alex doesn’t care, because he notices Philip in the carrier and god, he missed him. He leans down, and Philip smiles the moment he’s close enough to see it’s Alex and starts reaching out for him and he picks him up gently, cradling him in one arm when he sits down and goes back to signing the books. Philip more than content to hold onto one of John’s fingers as he leans gently against Alex. 

“I missed you, yes I missed you so much.” He says to Philip, and John chuckles, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Didn’t realize you were practically famous.” He whispered.

“I’m still not sure this isn’t a huge joke.” He said, passing Philip back to him, offering him a finger to grip as he indicated he was hungry. 

“Who are you?” One of the people asks John when they come up. 

“John Laurens, Alexander’s husband. Sorry for causing a bit of scene earlier, just thought I’d surprise him.” 

“And who’s this?” She asks, indicating to Philip. 

“Philip, he’s only a few weeks old.” 

“He’s so cute.” She says and Alex and John both grin.

“Thank you.” She moves on, but gives a small wave to Philip.

The line seems to move through much more quickly now that John’s there with him, and after the last book he drops his head onto his shoulder. 

“I slept more, but I don’t think I’ve ever slept more fitfully.” He says. Taking Philip back, and he smiles in his arms. “Keep showing off that smile, it’s gonna be a heartstopper when you get older.” He kisses his head gently before adjusting the cap and putting him down into his carrier, draping the blanket back over it before they head back home. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any requests my tumblr is oncetherelivedaboy.tumblr.com and comments are by far the best kind of motivation.


End file.
